Camden I, the OG course onsite, is the more beginner friendly of the two. That being said, it's no walk in the park, except for the first 5 holes. That is kind of a walk in the park. A very hilly park. From hole 6 on though you're in the woods. Lots of elevation here too so don't think this is just you're standar park style course.

The tees are concrete. Not the largest or longest things you'll see be plenty serviceable. One tee pad per hole. All were still in pretty good shape and worked fine. No complaints with these.

Mach III baskets that are still in good shape. They're showing some signs of age but overall get the job done just fine. There's at least two, but usually three pin placements per hole. I'd assume they're usually set up in the shorts during the cooler months just like C2. Most were in the longs in early August.

The first 5 holes, and really the first shot on hole 6 are all pretty much wide open. Lots of elevation on these though, and the wind can wreak havoc if you're not careful. Hole's 3 and 4's basket is placed on a berm (3) or the edge of that berm (4). You'd better be confident running your putt because if you miss you'll be lucky to have a makeable comebacker.

From hole 7 through 16 you're in the woods. Lots of elevation in this section too. Skinny lines on quite a few holes with the creek winding through a number of them too. The distances are shorter on a lot of these but don't be fooled. If you're not on your game these holes can get on top of you quick. Holes 17 and 18 are still "wooded" but it's much tamer than what came before it.

The tee signs are nice. Basic hole map, hole #, pars and distances to either pin location and any applicable OB shown. Like C2, they show what pin is in place albeit a bit differently, but just as effectively. On the bottom left of the sign there's a box for "current pin spot". There's a bolt attached here with a colored washer showing what pin is currently set up. Always love to see some way to show this.

The course starts and ends right by the parking lot, there's practice baskets and a restroom by the lot too. The course is up year round and free to play. Very clean property and this course stays away from other activities minus a walking trail.

A few of the holes had some unrealistic lines. Most of this seemed to be because of the woods growing in over the years and pinching some lines. Some of the other ones are just questionable hole shapes themselves. I wasn't a fan of a number of the wooded holes due to this.

The first five holes are kind of bland, filler type stuff. I get that there's only so much room to work with here but these still felt forced. At least there is elevation on 3 of the 5 so those have a little challenge.

The rough is pretty awful in a lot of spots off the fairway out here. Lose of plastic is a very real possibility, lose of blood searching in here is almost assured.

Some odd transitions between holes. It's easy enough to figure out if you make a wrong turn, but having a map available would be advised. That and some more next tee signs.

This course is the original of the two here, and it's pretty obvious after playing them both on the same day for the first time. Camden I has that old school course vibe which I generally like. This one was still fun but also frustrating in spots. A little trimming would make a big difference out here. As is, it's still a fun course and is worth a visit if you're in the area. Makes a good one-two punch with it's little (bigger) brother on-site. I'll play it again, good course.

Very fun little course . Every hole is reachable but one .Lots of holes in the open but with slick greens,bunch of ace runs ,great course right next door ,plays fast

not many bathrooms,could see it being kinda boring if played all the time ,not enough distance or bomber shots

Really nice having this course and camden 2 on same property warm up at cam1 then good luck on cam2 . very nice destination

This is the older brother of the awesome Camden II course. Camden I is nowhere near as good, but having both in the same park is an advantage because Camden I does add to the overall variety of holes by including a number of open holes on the hills where wind can be a huge factor.

It is a hilly course, only a couple of holes lack elevation change. The first 6 are mostly open, and then after that it varies from scattered trees to tunnel fairways through denser woods. Hole 6 was redesigned in the last couple years; it is now a legitimate par 4 hole playing along a meandering creek. It is a great hole, that starts out wide open but requires a little attention to placement of the drive in order to have a chance to approach cleanly for a 3. The approach has to cross the creek, which has some steep gully walls, so there is good risk/reward and trying to park the approach can add a couple strokes from a bad lie if you come up short. This is followed by a tough tunnel shot on hole 7. Holes 6,7 are the highlights of the course. Most of the rest of the course is made up of standard holes with decent variety, and a lot of deuce opportunities. Several holes call for midrange off the tee.

The course can be crowded, so its best played in mornings or weekdays.

Tons of rec players frequent this course and some of them have no understanding of course etiquette or cleaning up after themselves, so the course is sometimes not in the best shape. However the silver lining of that is that having this course side-by-side with Camden II draws those problems away from the great Camden II course.

-Camden 1 has a nice balance of open and wooded holes. The first six and the last 2 are open and the rest are fairly wooded.
-The course also makes good use of elevation, most of which are gentle to somewhat steep slopes.
-There is also a good mix of shot variety required at this course and some of these are the only lines for the hole. For instance 16 is a hard left to right uphill, 12 is a slight right to left downhill.
-There are 4 practice baskets to throw at for warm up.
Three sets of tees that offer different looks at the holes
Nice landscaping around trees in the open part of the course and a fairly intuitive layout.

-Only a portajohn and nature for bathrooms, no water, and parking area is a bit congested at times.
-Although there are 3 sets of tees, the shorts and the longs are only marked with a 2x4 painted either red or blue and can be hard to find or the teepads are just junk, washed away with erosion, unlevel etc.
-6 is kind of a confusing hole navigation wise, it's pretty much a straight shot but the pin you see is actually 15's pin, 6's pin is across the creek to the right of the bridge.
-A lot of the holes have not withstood the test of time the way they were designed is no longer the masses play them. For instance 13 now has 2 lines, a straight and easy one cut through the woods (new line which didn't exist when designed) or a right to left skip or roller shot (old line), it just seems like people find an easier route and decide to play it that way insead of the way it was intended.
-Although there are a few longer holes, none of these holes are in the woods, so the wooded holes get a bit repetitive
-Holes 3-5 have no trees on them at all, just wide open shots with elevation involved
-The course has a walking path on it so be careful on the open holes.

Overall, I enjoy playing this course thoroughly, it's where I spent a lot of my early days playing and I had a lot of fun there. I will definitely keep coming back especially since there is another excellent champ 18 onsite.

Also, do yourself a favor on hole 9, the only line looks to be a big right to left shot, which makes the hole fairly difficult to 3, but you can throw a high left to right shot over hole 8 and have an easy 3 and a possible duece

Very well marked; par, distance and map listed at every concrete tee. Well kept in a very hilly park just south of the Illinois/Iowa border. The first few holes are in open field where elevation changes are your only enemy. After that, the fairways become lined with foliage (but nothing too dense). Some highlights throughout this one; very well constructed through the middle. Lots of people playing on a Sunday afternoon, but we were never held up at any one point.

Nothing bad to say about this one, really. Nothing to brag about either. A typical DG experience. A creek runs through the entire course which is looks nice but smells bad.

Park all the way in the back by a pavilion. Here there is access to both courses. Don't play the other one, unless you love abuse.